According to the Chief, residents of his town, who in times past beamed with smiles after returning from the hospital, now have to pay exorbitant amounts of money, in the midst of the prevailing hardships and suffering, in order to access healthcare.
“When as a government you only think of infrastructural development, without paying attention to the well-being of the citizenry, it is a cause for worry. President John Agyekum Kufuor instituted the National Health Insurance Scheme, which enabled residents to access affordable healthcare at the Asaman Hospital.
“These days, you even have to buy paracetamol yourself, whereas in those days, under President Kufuor, you come home from the hospital with all the drugs paid for by the NHIS. Today, we have to pay for healthcare services, as well as pay for the drugs. This situation is unacceptable,” the Chief of Asaman bemoaned.
Barima Owusu Sekyere made this known on Saturday, July 16, 2016, when the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, together with the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for Afigya Sekyere East, Mavis Nkansah Boadu, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace.
Delving into the education sector which, he said, is also in crisis, Barima Owusu Sekyere recounted how “students, right from the days of Kwame Nkrumah, were given allowances to help them through college. After completing school, the teacher is given everything in order to make him or her comfortable, so he or she can teach the children well.”
Today, however, the Asaman Chief indicated that “students in training colleges pay fees, have had the allowances cancelled, and even after completion, they have to write application letters. Which teacher, after completing training school, writes an application before he is employed in a school?”
Barima Owusu Sekyere, therefore, reposed his confidence in the ability of the NPP flagbearer to return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity.
“I know you can do it, and that is why the NPP overwhelmingly elected you as flagbearer. There is a saying which states that ‘one goes before the Chiefs three times, if he is to be successful’. This is your third time, and we know that God and our ancestors will make sure you are victorious,” he added.
To all NPP supporters and sympathisers, Barima Owusu Sekyere, urged patience and unity amongst their ranks in the run-up to this year’s elections, stating that “whatever God has written this year, no man can change it.”
In concluding he reiterated his unflinching support for the NPP leader, adding that “I bless you. In sickness or in health, I support you. It is he who embarks on a good journey who is encouraged and supported.”
Ghana’s problem is leadership
Still in the Afigya Sekyere East constituency, Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on Nana Dr. Frimpong Anokye II, Chief of the Agona Traditional Area.
Revealing that the NPP flagbearer was his mate at the University of Ghana, Legon, Nana Dr. Frimpong Anokye II noted that the bane of Africa, and for that matter Ghana, has always been bad leadership.
“Bad governance breeds problems and troubles in nations. Africa’s problem is that of leadership. Wherever there is turmoil and hardship in any nation, then leadership is to blame,” he said.
The Chief of Agona, thus, urged Nana Akufo-Addo to constantly trust God, as He is the only one who anoints Kings, adding that “we pray for God’s guidance for you, and I am certain that if you do God’s will, His will for your life will also come to pass.”